


Use Both Lanes To Merge Point.

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Series: Merge Point [1]
Category: Baby Driver (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Consent Issues, Dominance, Kinky, M/M, Ownership, Post-Canon, Submission, Yuletide 2017, Yuletide Treat, dirtybadwrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 00:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13089105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: "Youaremy good luck charm, Baby," Doc says. "Why would I ever let you go?"





	Use Both Lanes To Merge Point.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Largishcat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Largishcat/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, Largishcat! I really loved your prompts. Hope you enjoy!  
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> Soundtrack:  
> [Nine Inch Nails - Closer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGwqJZWow3A)  
> [Dropkick Murphys - Until The Next Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O_cOnGrpY8)  
> [Lady Gaga - Poker Face](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo)  
> [Muse - Stockholm Syndrome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXN9acC9edU)

1.

Baby stands there in front of Doc like he has so many other times. Like he never has before. He's never fucked up like this before, never even thought he'd could. "I'm not your lucky charm anymore," he says, completely wrecked. "But I'm standing here asking for your help."

Doc shakes his head. "You _are_ my good luck charm, Baby," Doc says. "Why would I ever let you go?"

Baby's got a gun, but he isn't going to shoot Doc. Baby _can't_ shoot Doc. Doc's held hostages over him but there's no bigger hostage than the fact that Baby _can't shoot him_. Baby can drive. Baby can shoot people. He can't shoot Doc. He's never killed anyone before all this fuckery happened, only ever shot his gun at the range, and he thinks he's discovering new parts of himself, parts of himself that aren't all that welcome. But he's had a million chances to turn on Doc and he's never taken any of them, and he's not going to.

He owes Doc, yeah, but that's not even the start of it. He's scared of Doc, but Baby's been scared of a lot of things in his life and he's never let it get to him before.

But Doc... Doc's had Baby since the first time Doc tracked him down. Baby'd been young, he hadn't known who he was pissing off, and then he'd found himself in some kind of fucked up arrangement where he'd been sure, so sure, that Doc would put a bullet in his head as soon as he was done 'paying him back'. And still he'd never run. He'd still never taken Joe and the fastest car he could find. He'd known the danger, he'd looked it in the eye, and he'd still never gone back on that agreement. 

Because it's Doc. Because he loves to drive, and Doc gives him the best challenges he can find. Because aside from the fear, it's really fun, and sometimes even the fear is fun, too. Baby had done it before for the money, for the adrenaline, for the joy. He'd never done it to belong to someone before. And then he'd met Doc. And he'd... he'd belonged. He'd fit. He'd never fit before, but he fits with Doc, on Doc's crew.

Doc never works with the exact same crew twice, but he always works with Baby. And that means something, and it means something to Doc, and it means something to Baby, and no, of course, Doc is never going to let him go. Doc would never do that. Doc hasn't gotten where he is by being soft or-- or nice. He's gotten where he is by taking things and-- and keeping them.

And Baby's standing here, cut and bloodied and desperate. He's here for his Mom's tape. He's here to _finish the job_. He's here to give Doc what they stole and then be free of him. He's here... he's here. That's the important bit. He's here.

He came back to Doc. And he knows Doc doesn't let things go. Won't let him go.

Debora's fingers lace in with Baby's and she holds on. And Baby holds on. 

And Doc takes the bag. And then he wraps his fingers around Baby's other wrist. 

And he takes Baby.

But Baby'd always belonged to him anyway.

 

2.

Debora has a life she can go back to. She doesn't much like her life, but she has one. Baby doesn't. Doc lets Baby keep his music. He doesn't let him go home.

Doc's got enough connections with the cops that the manhunt for Baby just... disappears. No one's coming after him. No one legit or non-legit is going to do anything about the fact that Baby's killed someone. Killed someone on purpose. Killed someone with intent. It's all swept away. It's all gone. It's all something else Baby owes Doc for.

"If you didn't want to be in debt to me, you could've just run," Doc says. "I'd've still found you, but you could have run."

And they both know, Baby didn't run. Or, well, he ran. But he ran straight back to Doc and then got stuck, he got pinned to the wall like a butterfly. He'd meant to keep going. He's pretty sure he meant to keep going. But Doc's been there for him, and Doc's been kind to him even when he didn't have to be, and Doc's... Baby's got one talent and Doc appreciates that talent, needs that talent.

And Baby really likes feeling needed.

He doesn't delude himself that Doc couldn't replace him. Baby's talent, but he's cheap talent. His value used to be that he didn't know what he was worth, and once he'd learned what he was worth, there was no way for him to negotiate a raise. So Baby's cheap, and he's good, so he's valuable, but he's not _irreplaceable_. There are other drivers. There may not be _better_ drivers, but there are other drivers. But Doc doesn't do any jobs without Baby. Baby needs Doc, but maybe Doc also needs Baby.

Or maybe Baby's just fooling himself.

Doc's touching him more now. He likes to tap Baby on the shoulder now and then. He doesn't take Baby's headphones out ever, but sometimes he'll reach into Baby's jacket pocket and swap out which ipod he's listening to, or change around the song to suit Doc's mood. Personal space is for people you don't owe your entire life and continued freedom to.

Baby does get his way on one thing, though. "No one like Bats again," he says to Doc. It's the first thing he's said to Doc without prompting since Doc took him back. It's been a couple weeks by that point, but it still counts. "Reckless murder is bad for business," he adds, because Doc needs some kind of reasoning he'd agree with.

He still feels like it's a risk saying anything, like speaking will upset whatever delicate balance they've constructed. But Doc goes along with it, from what Baby can tell. He doesn't care if Doc starts screening his jobs differently, or just starts screening what Baby knows. Maybe Doc's gotten himself a different driver for those kinds of jobs. Doc probably has. Doc would want to have a new driver in his back pocket anyway in case he does decide he has to get rid of Baby after all. This is probably just Baby giving Doc even more reasons to replace him.

But okay, whatever, then Doc will replace him. Baby knows the score. He's staying alive right now on the knife's edge of being useful to Doc, not for anything else. He's paying off a debt, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have things he won't do. He's in this for the thrill of driving. He's in this because he owes Doc. But he's not in this to kill people. He's not in this for people to die.

Baby's been in this business long enough; of course he's seen collateral damage before. Hell, you don't drive like Baby does without racking up some kind of body count, however unintentionally. But Bats was the first time Baby'd felt like someone could die just because a guy was in a mood for it, just because someone _felt_ like it. It's one thing if someone dies for a job; Baby can deal with that. But Bats hadn't killed people for the job. He'd killed people because he'd decided it was the more convenient option. And Baby just doesn't know how he's supposed to work with someone who might just decide to murder him for no good reason, not for a job, not because he fucked up, but because he just felt like it.

He thinks he'd walk if he had to watch a crew start killing just because they like it, if it's not for the job, if it's not _necessary_. He really likes to think that's where he'd draw the line with Doc. That's where he drew it last time, right? He fucked up a job trying to stop people from getting killed. And maybe he'd walk for other things, maybe he has some other kinds of limits, maybe, he doesn't know, but another job like that one would do it, another crew member like Bats would do it. And that's his line and he makes sure Doc knows it. 

And maybe Doc respects that or maybe Doc is just waiting around until he wears Baby down, but Baby doesn't get put on a job with guys like that again. Baby doesn't flinch, he never has, he's fucking hard as nails and a devil behind the wheel, but that doesn't mean he wants to see all the shit he's seen. That doesn't mean he approves. That doesn't mean he wants anything to do with it ever again.

He doesn't get to say no to jobs; Doc's made that clear. But he can say no to parts to them, if he tries hard enough, if he really means it, if he's willing to back it up with action, if he's willing to kill over it. If there's one thing the whole mess taught him, taught Doc, it's that. Baby killed Bats and doesn't regret it, not really, not at all. He'd do it again if he had to. He just wants to make it clear to Doc: don't ever make me have to, ever again. You gonna kill me, then kill me, but do it before you put me in another car with someone like _that_. 

Because Baby would do it again, and next time, he wouldn't come back. He'll take the car and just keep driving, just him and the road and a stolen car, and the knowledge that Doc will eventually track him down and put a bullet in his head.

So don't make him do it.

 

3.

Baby choreographs his life to music, takes life one song at a time. Nine Inch Nails is a little cliche for getting fucked, but Doc laughs when he overhears it through Baby's headphones, so that's all right. Baby technically sleeps in one of Doc's spare rooms, but he's not in there that often. Doc's let Baby have part of the basement as a music space and there's a couch down there. It's comfortable on the nights when Doc doesn't want him, or kicks him out of bed after. Baby doesn't really need a room. It's just a place to put things.

Doc pays Baby better now, but Baby finds he doesn't have much he needs to save for anymore, and even less to spend it on. Doc takes care of Joe's assisted living bills himself, so Baby can't even spend it taking care of his family. Baby used to be a provider, and now there's no way to convince himself anymore that it's necessary, that he needs the money. He doesn't. It's not like he's buying anything. Doc's not really leaving him any room to do that.

He'd buy any one of his numerous dream cars, but he's very sure that any car he falls in love with, he's eventually going to have to use as a getaway car and then have to get rid of it. Doc's pretty reliable that way. Baby gets what he wants, but Doc's the one who gives it to him. Doc's also the one who takes it away from him. It's a system. It's a fucked up system, but it's a system.

You can pay back money. It's much harder to pay back epically fucking up a job, killing a member of your crew, getting another member killed by the cops, and forcing Doc to kill the last one to save your life. That kind of debt takes an entire life time to pay. Baby could run away, or he could pay the debt. He's choosing to pay the debt.

It's getting hard to remember why he didn't like being indebted to Doc. It's getting hard to remember why he'd chafed at it for so long. It's getting hard to remember that he didn't-- he didn't intend to get himself back here. He didn't intend to get himself dug in deeper, dug in worse.

He really didn't intend to let Doc fuck him, didn't intend to let Doc in that far into his life. Doc's his employer. Doc's his landlord. Doc basically owns and controls everything in Baby's life.

And Baby-- Baby kind of really _likes it_.

He's being taken care of, and he knows he's being spoiled for a reason, he knows there's a noose around his neck that he's being deliberately distracted from. It feels good when Doc fucks him. It feels good when Doc owns him. It feels good when Doc dangles keys from his fingers, giving them to Baby along with orders for the next job. And behind the wheel, a strong beat blaring in his ears, the tires squealing beneath him, the crew holding on for dear life... it's really, really, really easy to forget. He loves it so much he sometimes forgets how much he hates it. He loves it so much he forgets why he should hate it. He loves it so much-- he loves it so much.

 

4.

Ever since Baby started working for Doc, he's heard the rumors: that Doc got his start somewhere overseas, Turkey or maybe Hungary, that he mostly dealt drugs until he diversified, that he owns enough cities to field a baseball league. Baby gets his first confirmation of any of that when Doc starts having him chauffeur around some of his important guests, who mostly talk to Doc in languages Baby doesn't know, and who treat Baby like something they can buy. A lot of them do offer him money to change sides. He keeps the money and he tells Doc about most of them. It's not a big deal; Doc knows he's not going anywhere. But Doc really doesn't like to share and sometimes that's entertaining to watch. Doc values his guests too much to actually kill them over making a move on Baby, so it's entertainment without Baby getting blood on his hands.

Baby's got some Dropkick Murphys going on the job on the day one of the crew grabs Baby from behind after he's gotten them into the parking garage. Baby's always got a screwdriver and he's always got his headphones and he's always got his keys. It's not much against a gun, but this guy doesn't have a gun. He just has a death wish. Baby gets him good a few times and when it's time to collect, Doc gives him a bullet. Doc doesn't like it when people touch his things. He doesn't share well. Doc knows what's his and he keeps what's his.

Doc likes to hold him by the back of the neck and squeeze. There's no real rhyme or reason to when he does it; Baby's tried to figure it out, but there's no pattern. Doc just does it when he feels like it. Just wraps his fingers around Baby's neck when he feels like it. Just squeezes slightly when he feels like it. Baby would've thought he'd've hated it, but he doesn't. He loves it. Maybe he'd feel different if Doc left bruises. Maybe. Maybe not. But it feels good. It feels right.

Doc's good to him. There's rules, but everything's got rules, and Doc's pretty good at setting limits with him. Doc gets his own way, but he lets Baby do what he needs to do. Doc picks the music in the car when it's not a job, he doesn't always like what Baby comes up with on his own, he's had some strong opinions on Baby's taste being too broad for comfort, but he lets Baby do whatever he wants on jobs. He lets Baby call the timing. He lets Baby pick the routes. You can't predict the kind of shit Baby's mind will come up with when there's no plan other than an originating point and a destination, and so Doc doesn't try. Doc trusts him. Baby will get there. Baby always does.

Baby's always going to come through. It's what he does.

 

5.

Doc gives him time off for good behavior. He lets him visit Joe in the assisted living facility. He lets him have his tape recorder and sanctioned opportunities to use it. He even once gets him a gig as a DJ. But Baby knows, the leash might have slack in it, but it's still a leash. When Doc calls, Baby's there. No questions, no objections. He can't say no to jobs. And he doesn't really want to say no to Doc. Not anymore. And he doesn't really want to think about why. It's just easier to let Doc call all the shots. It's just easier to let Doc take care of him.

Baby doesn't go to the diner. He's allowed; Doc hasn't told him he can't. But it hurts too much. And what do you even say when you go on one date with someone and then she finds out you're a getaway driver who dances on the string of a crimelord? And that's before he'd had to stop Bats from murdering her, and that's before she knew he'd killed Bats and how he'd done it, the way he'd taken something he loved and used it to murder someone. There are strong beginnings for relationships, and then there's the mess of things Baby'd made with Debora. It's best if he just steers clear. Maybe someday the memories will fade. Maybe someday he can go back. Maybe someday he'll even want to.

It's just easier if he doesn't think about it, that's all.

Doc's been trying to mold him into a protege, teach him all the tricks of the trade. It keeps his hooks in him, gets him invested in more than motors and high-speed chases. Doc doesn't make Baby do any planning or recon on his own, but he makes him sit in. Baby's been out of school for a while, but Doc's got him right back in now. It's time for him to learn, Doc tells him. He doesn't have to listen, but he does have to learn. And Baby's not allowed to say no.

The first time Doc makes him sit in on a meeting that Baby doesn't care about, he plays Poker Face. Doc catches a part of it while walking behind Baby and gives him an amazing look. After that, it's almost like a game. Baby likes this challenge. He switches it up, always sure to have a pounding beat that Doc can't manage to ignore. He's here to learn, fine, he'll learn, but he's not going to do it quietly.

But Baby's still the driver. That's what he lives for, that's what flows through his veins instead of blood. And Doc won't waste that. 

At the end of the day, ignoring all the bullshit, that's what he is: he's someone who puts his shades on, puts on some Muse, and _fucking floors it_.

**Author's Note:**

> [Yuletide Reveal Post](https://lannamichaels.dreamwidth.org/993851.html)


End file.
